Knowing Your Mangerrs

Last week we asked: "Something not covered in the column. There is a way of thinking whereby when you hear someone talk, you automatically think about the motivations behind what they said, as well as the words they used. Do you do this?"

59% said "Yes"

41% said "No"

Other comments:

- Not usually unless I have previous experieince with this person that leads me to believe they are not straightforward in their words and actions.

- Attitudes lead to (usually result in) specific behaviours. What is said reveals those attitudes pretty quickly, even if you aren't in a position or have the opportunity to see behaviours. Careful listening will help you navigate in conflicts, team projects, new jobs and working with new people joining the organization. Take advantage of opportunities over coffee breaks and in cafeteria/lunch room to listen. Safety is a critical area where attitude influences behavior. In listening, you might learn some people have interests, life experiences and knowledge that would be great to know about and share in.

- I try to be a careful and objective listener but do at least sometimes think about the motivation of the speaker.

- With my span of concentration, I need to pay attention to what is being said first of all. After the comment has been made, oftentimes at the first opportunity to do so, I give some thought as to why the person might feel that way, particularly if it we are using the same data to come to divergent conclusions.

Want to get a jump on the surveys? Follow me on twitter, where they are posted early. You can do this here. (note: all respondents are confidential; the software is programmed in such a way that neither we nor anyone else can determine who responded)

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Want to be heard on other subjects? Be sure to watch for "Paperitalo Second Tuesday Surveys."